Joel Rafael, Release Party, Thousand Oaks, 25.04.08
"Last week's Joel Rafael CD Release Party in Thousand Oaks, California was a great show, highlighted by a guest appearance by Graham Nash on vocals and harmonica. Joel had an exceptionally talented band backing him including Radoslav Lorkovic (Jimmy LaFave's band) on an incredible sounding baby grand piano, Mark Shark (John Trudell's band) on guitar, and Jamaica Rafael on harmony vocals for several songs. Lots of great artists in the audience too, including Kenny Edwards and Severin Browne.
Joel can sing anything and make it sound warm and soulful, but it doesn't hurt that he's a master songwriter and writes some truly great material. All of the songs from the evening - except the first one - were from his new CD, which has been getting constant play in our home over the past few 
weeks. Here's the set list:
1. Ballad of Bellingham
2. Ball & Chain
3. Rich Man's War (the Steve Earle song)
4. I Ought To Know (the Jack Hardy song)
5. Dancing To The Drum
6. Open Up Your Heart
7. Wild Honey
8. This Is My Country (with Graham Nash)
9. Song Of Sacrates
10. Time Stands Still
11. Promised Land
12. Graces
Jamaica Rafael opened the evening with a short set of her own songs. I've seen her perform with her father many times over the years, but had never seen her do a set of her own music before. Jamaica played guitar and piano, but did not bring out her violin. (She's working on her own CD for possible release later this year.) That's one talented family...
Graham Nash's appearance was a huge surprise for the audience. He and David Crosby sing on "This Is My Country" on the CD and you could tell he was really into the song - even mouthing the lyrics he wasn't singing. He definitely injected some energy and spirit into the set with his harmonica, singing harmony on the chorus and lead vocals for one verse.
Overall, a very good concert. Everyone I talked with had a great time and really enjoyed the music. CD sales were brisk. (Joel Rafael's new CD is called 'THIRTEEN STORIES HIGH' and was released on Inside Recordings, which is Jackson Browne's label. Jackson wasn't there because he was in the studio working on his own new CD, which he hopes to have out this fall.)
Do be sure to check out Joel Rafael's video for 'This Is My Country' which can be found in the Top 100 on Neil Young's 'Living With War' website:
http://www.neilyoung.com/lwwtoday/lwwvideospage.html
"Very, very powerful stuff."
- JRP Graphics / April 2008 -
Ted Russell Kamp "Divisadero" (Pomo Records)
"Kamp musters all his forces to produce a sumptuous blend of americana, country-rock and inspired song-smithery on his new album. A thoroughly consisent collection of songs that wouldn't sound out of place in the Steve Earle-songbook, Kamp has a real knack for composing believable story songs, so much so that it's difficult to choose the choice cuts.
The autobiographical 'Music Is My Mistress'. the engrossing heartbreak tale 'Gypsy's Tune', the plaintive pedal-steel colored 'Looking For Someone', the strutting funky country sass of 'Better Before You Were Big Time', and the gloriously compelling stripped-back mandolin and voice of closer 'The Road Keeps Getting Longer' are all serious contenders for contemporary classic status.
One word; Discover!"
- Rock'N'Reel Magazine / March 2008 -
Rachael Sage "The Blistering Sun" (MPress Records)
"As a woman in tutu, bangles and other fancy stuff, who sits at a piano singing high, bright and agile, Rachael Sage attracts easy Kate Bush/Tori Amos comparisions, but 'The Blistering Sun' deliver a warm intelligent voice of her own. Inspired by notably non-girlish Elvis Costello, and backed by brilliant East Village friends of Rufus, Antony and such, Sage hits somewhere between the bedsit, and the cellarful of noise and it does you really good!"
- Mojo Magazine / February 2008 -
Jewly Hight "Darlin' Understand" (Me & My Chauffeur)
"Jewly Hight's day job is being a music writer, but don't let that put you off, as on the transference of talent scale she's much nearer Neil Tennant than, say, Will Hodgikinson. In fact, one of the most surprising things about her debut album is that it's released independently, as it's a lot better than much of the music put out by any number of record labels.
Hight's music is as Southern as it comes, whether it's the slow brooding of 'White Knuckles' or the title track, both of which display the heavy influence of Lucinda Williams, as indeed does much of the album. 'Junebug' is a nice slice of Tennessee country with a lolloping, lilting chorus, and 'Knockin's' urgent driving beat gets the feet tapping and the body shaking.
To (mis)coin an old phrase; Do give up the day job, we need more of this music!"
- Maverick Magazine / January 2008 -
The Red Button "She's About To Cross My Mind" (Grimble)
"I knew the first time I heard this disc that it would top my list of the year. Like anyone who manages to live as long as I have, the 60's were a magical time. Not just because of the Beatles and their contemporaries, but because a generation was given the chance to sink or swim on its own. Turns out a life preserver was a handy thing to have more often than not, but we made it to shore. Before we even thought about food or shelter, though, we searched for a place to plug in our music. That decade turned out more classic music than any before or since.
But like anything we get in great supply and devour we still want more. This one off album is that one more album from the sixties that we have craved since the decade finally ended in 1973 with the release of "Dark Side Of The Moon." It's an intentional valentine to the era, most specifically the British Invasion aspect. It soars where it should have crashed and endures where it should have been forgotten after a couple of listens. The reason is simple: the affection for the music comes through not as a tribute, but as an extension of its origins. The lyrics and the melodies drift from the speakers like songs you already know but just forgot about. They never once wink at the crowd, roll their eyes or step off the high wire. This past year contained over half a million minutes (if my calculations are correct or even close). This single disc was responsible for the best thirty three I heard. Now it's your turn."
- Village Records / December 2007 -
Dave Gleason's Wasted Days "Just Fall To Pieces"
(Well Worn Records)
"This is Dave Gleason's 3rd album and like the previous two, it's packed full of honky-tonk weepers and country-rock swingers that'll have you crying in your beer, and bouncing round the dance floor. In a milieu that's damned by some pretty dismal pretenders, these guys are the real deal."
- Rock'N'Reel, UK / November 2007 -
Remmelt, Muus & Femke "The Long Way Round"
(Remmelt Records)
"Those of you who like pop, rock, country, vocal harmonies, Beatles, Poco, Neil Young and Sandy Denny should listen to this, at times phenomenal Dutch trio. If they were Dutch football players, we'd probably know them well. But Dutch folks who play American roots music, how big a chance of them being discovered? Even though the music is just as adventurous and full of fantasy as Dutch "fussball Total" once was. With the 'right' nationality, they'd top many charts. So, bully for you if you don't get to hear for example, 'Carina's Waltz', one of the most beautiful country tunes I've ever heard!"
- Dalarnas Tidningar / October 2007 -
Salim Nourallah "Snowing In My Heart" (Tapete/Dotshop)
"'It's good to be melancholy', Salim Nourallah explains and in one song title, concludes his entire, massive soft-rock deed. The big brother of
Faris Nourallah has been hooked on The Beatles since his childhood days, but even if the pop roots are exposed, his talent and the melancholy are his very own.
We've lost count on all of his albums, the previous one was released as recently as March, but we never lose the joy of a new one. He who's not already are on the Salim Nourallah-train, will jump on it now, and won't ruine himself from bying the whole catalogue in a couple of years' time!"
- Nöjesguiden / September 2007 -
The Red Button "She's About To Cross My Mind" (Grimble)
"What a terrific record this is! "She's About To Cross My Mind" by L.A. based singer-songwriter twosome Seth Swirsky and Mike Ruekberg manages to translate the best of the beat sixties in an infectious way into the here and now. There's beautiful two-part singing, shimmering guitars all over the place and above all truly fantastic songs, one being even better than the other. The Beatles regularly come to mind ("Cruel Girl", "She's About To Cross My Mind", "Free", "Hopes Up"), but also The Byrds ("Can't Stop Thinking About Her"), the Sir Douglas Quintet ("Gonna Make You Mine" - That organ!) and a myriad of others. These guys really have an amazing feeling for catchy melodies! This is the kind of stuff that Paul McCartney no longer seems to be able to come up with for some years now! No doubt at all, this here record is going to be our soundtrack for the summer of 2007!
- Ctrl Alt Country / August 2007 -
(5 out of 5!)
Salim Nourallah & The Polaroids "Pleasantry Lane"
(Paisley Pop/Dotshop)
"'Model Brothers From The Start'. That's what Salim Nourallah sings of himself and his two years younger brother Faris, and whether this is true or not, one can only conclude that they are model brothers now. After their joint album as Nourallah Brothers eight years ago, they have run parallel careers, but musically, they have stayed next to each other with nicely hammered-out pop, treating both melodies and details with the same sense of perfection, and so it continues.
Big brother Salim is the nicest of them with his slightly sentimental and light-pop-tinged retrospections toward his chilchood. At times, he shows a strong resemblence to early Costello, other times, it's Todd Rundgren and he who fell for Salim's fantastic 'The World Is Full Of People Who Want To Hurt You' (and he who didn't fall hasn't got a heart) won't get disappointed, now that he returns to some of his older songs, like for instance the fine '1978' and the strikingly beautiful Lennon-like ballad 'Everybody Wants To Be Loved'."
- Nöjesguiden / July 2007 -
Sorta "Strange And Sad But True" (Summer Break)
"What if Jeff Tweedy between 'Being There' and 'Summer Teeth' had chosen this indie-rock direction for his Wilco, instead of the alt-country direction. Maybe Tweedy then would have mutated into Trey Johnson, whos smart, sensitive and very direct melodies, with the rock'n'roll heart
in exactly the right place, scores this magnificent album all they way into a beautiful goal!"
- Sonic Magazine / June 2007 -
Black Lab "Passion Leaves A Trace" (Black Lab World)
"Black Lab delivers an extremely enjoyable album which, after several listenings, anchors in your mind, and therefore deeply enjoys its stay in my CD-player, now already for several weeks. Monumental rock and pop with heavenly guitar riffs floating gently over the harmony vocals and the etheric singing of Paul Durham : absolutely deserving its labelling as 'The American U2' (... but I like Black Lab better!)"
- Rootstime / May 2007 -
Amy Speace "Songs For Bright Street" (Wildflower Records)
"Amy Speace´s 'Songs For Bright Street' is an absolutely convincing Singer/Songwriter-Roots-Rock-album that shines with great variety, fabulous musicians, versatile vocals and wonderfully ingenious lyrics."
- Home Of Rock / April 2007 -
Jenny Yates "Out Of The Blue" (In My Dreams)
"Jenny Yates has been writing songs for Garth Brooks, Kathy Mattea and Ronnie Milsap. But when she, herself, sings her songs - written in co-operation with Kieran Kane, Andrew Gold and Gary Nicholson - it's not about middle-of-the-road-mainstream-boring-country, it's about pure and timeless (70's smelling) Americana. Jenny's voice is the centre-piece, and it's a voice that convinces you from the first bar - A kind of clear and concious tone, not unlike Linda Ronstadt. Proud and beautiful!"
- Trots Allt / March 2007 -
Filip "Crane Grief" (Filipsongs/Dotshop)
"It isn't very easy to categorise the music of Filip. At first I thought I was listening to The Blues. Filip choses his notes with care. Never too much, less is more. It slowly grabs you, the same way the music of Antony & The Johnsons does. They don't breathe the same air, but they play with the same mystery, they use the same ingredients to seduce. These are 12 songs, mysterious and beautiful dark.
- Hanx Net / February 2007 -
Honeydogs "Amygdala" (CC Entertainment)
"Adam Levy and his Honeydogs has been around for more than 10 years, with the new album "Amygdala" being the 7th one. They have a sound that's irresistable and hard not to love. Levy's songs are filled with heartfelt melodies in a warm sound by producer John Fields.
Honeydogs deliver alternative pop with a mix of 90's roots-rock that lies very close to midwest rock - Imagine a mix of Crash Test Dummies, Gin Blossoms and The Wallflowers and we're pretty close to how Levy and co sounds like. You can also draw parallels to Robert Plant-like rock on tracks like "The Firing Squad Reloads" and "Devil's Advocate" while the pianopop of "Invertebre" goes more in the vein of Five For Fighting.
Highly recommendable!"
- Melodic Net / January 2007 -
Kate Campbell w/Spooner Oldham "For The Living Of These Days" (Large River/Border)
"I'm completely overwhelmed. Kate Campbell and Spooner Oldham's new album of white gospel is a sure-fire masterpiece. Campbell's warm voice floats above Oldham's gentle touch of keyboards. Together they create a piece of timeless beauty, music so joyful, it will make the most evil denier of God near-religous!"
- Lira / December 2006 -
Kelly Jones "Handle With Care" (CDBaby)
"New, terrific album by Kelly Jones. Long over-looked singer somewhere between country- and singer-songwriter-tradition. Passionate and intimate, naked and deeply expressive - A gem!"
- Rootsy / November 2006 -
David Mead "Tangerine" (Tallulah!/Dotshop)
"It's moments like these, we pop-lovers live our lives for. After Kip Boardman and Richard Swift, I thought we were through with singer-songwriters carrying classical monster-melodies. But a guy named David Mead also fit this bill. You've got to listen to "Tangerine", and you've got to do it on the day of release! I'm sure there won't be a stronger album released this year - A sensation, simply put!"
- Sonic Magazine / October 2006 -
Faris Nourallah "Il Suo Cuore Di Transistor"
(Awful Bliss/Dotshop)
"On his new album, "Il Suo Cuore Di Transistor", Faris Nourallah gets down to the very essence and dares to use a simple and almost childlike expression. It's a perfect, loving pop-album, which rises above everything else in this world, as it's so very un-neurotic, cosy and warm."
- Dagens Nyheter / September 2006 -
Chris & Thomas "Land Of Sea" (Boo)
"You can't help but loving Chris & Thomas.The guys went to Paul McCartney's Art School in Liverpool, and made their selves a name on the club circuit in Los Angeles. They're influenced by The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and Nick Drake, and sure; The debut album is a rare mix of all these influences. The melodies are haunting and the lyrics are brilliant. Listen, love and enjoy. This is a bonafide classic!"
- Groove Magazine / August 2006 -
The BellRays "Have A Little Faith" (Cheap Lullaby)
"They say they play rock'n'soul. A declaration I agree fully on. It's a long, long time since I heard such energy focused on one and the same album. Singer Lisa Kekaula sounds like a young Tina Turner on stereoids. A smash on the mouth and smooth velvet sheets. That's what you hear in the albums best tracks; 'Maniac Blues' and 'Third Time's The Charm'."
- Trots Allt / July 2006 -
Salim Nourallah "Beautiful Noise" (Tapete Records)
"Spend your vacation in the company of Salim Nourallah. Follow him in the landscape of lost love, in the back alleys of disappointment and in the bittersweet sting of desperation that always ends with a soft and slow emergency landing. On "Beautiful Noise" you will all get your fill with pop-melodies in the land of Beatles, and in the contemporary fields of Damien Jurado and Sufjan Stevens."
- Otakt / June 2006 -
Kiki Ebsen "Kiki" (Painted Pony Media)
"I have followed Kiki since her debut 12 years ago and she is well worth the attention. With her well-crafted and personal songwriter "pop" somewhere between Carole King, Charlotte Martin, Norah Jones and Vonda Shephard, she got herself a place in my heart. The new album is no exception. She continues to deliver the same sort of high quality stuff and a cool thing with this album is that she have done some really damn cool versions of her personal favorites like Matchbox 20's "Unwell", Traffic's"Low Spark Of High Heeled Boys" and Dionne Warwick's "I Say A Little Prayer" which could have been done by Eva Cassidy. Beautiful album by a beautiful artist. What else do we need?"
- Melodic Net / May 2006 -
Bob Cheevers "Texas To Tennessee" (Back 9 Records)
"Bob Cheevers has spent 40 years in the business, and written well over a
thousand songs. Here's another album, to follow 'Gettysburg To Graceland', with a bunch of songs about everyday life, in, and around, the Mississippi delta. It's honest, a bit nostalgic, very convincing and Cheevers has a voice like few others.
A voice that fits like a glove in the more bluesier numbers."
- Groove Magazine / April 2006 -
Emm Gryner "The Great Lakes" (Dead Daisy Records)
"After the latest, very personal cover album 'Songs Of Love & Death' - where she did interpretations and soft versions of some Irish artists songs - Emm Gryner is now releasing this limited album, to be sold only on tour, and on her website. Ten of the eleven songs are composed by Emm herself, and the eleventh is a collaboration between Emm and Mike Rowe. She sings, plays, produces, records, mixes and do the cover art all by herself. Among other things. This is the pure essence of the word 'Homemade'.
But it doesn't sound at all anything like it. On the contrary. 'The Great Lakes' is a brilliant collection of songs, and Emm is once again showing that she's a great interpretator of songs - This time her own. Listen to the scaled-down piano-ballads 'Billy Hang On', and 'Star/Crossed'. Her voice crawls under your skin, and the melodies seeks themselves all the way into your brain, where they both entertain you, and worries you.
It's equally fascinating to hear the fast-driving 'Win The West', and 'Case Of Tornadoes' - Songs I'd rather hear on the radio, instead of the usual muzak we're fed with every day.
Later this year, Emm is releasing the album 'The Summer Of High Hopes', the ordinary way - Through her label Dead Daisy Records, and through regular distribution-channels (In Sweden through 'dotshop.se'). I can't really believe that it's as good as this one, but you never know..."
- Trots Allt / March 2006 -
Steven Jaymes live at Caffrey's, Borås
"After a bit of a slow start, most of this evening turned out to be a fantastic experience. Steven Jaymes is a singer-songwriter from New Zealand, but now living in Australia. For the moment he's on a short tour of Scandinavia. Tomorrow he'll be in Norway, but yesterday he stopped by in Borås.
On his latest album, "Hemingway's Cats", he is kind of jazzy, well produced, but a litle bit too kind and soft. This is also the impression when he sits by his piano this evening. But after a while, you can hear that he has a lot of more blues in his veins, than the album shows. He's doing a great Ray Charles-cover, and his show really takes on to a higher level.
But it's still something missing. The piano is a bit too high in volume, to really create that intimate atmosphere. Steven's whiskey-soaked fits very well in with the surroundings, and pretty soon that really spontaneous feel starts to show. He brings on his guitar and everything just sky-rockets.
It feels a bit like taking a step back to your own heritage. Everything falls in place when Steven takes the role of a true singer-songwriter. But soon the feel changes pace once again. He asks a guy from the audience to take on the guitar, while he steps back to his piano.
Then the roof really fells off!
This moment is quite astonishing. The blues is not just present, it sits down in the easy chair, sipping on the drinks, and stomps it's feet. The music demands attention of every atom present in the room.
Poor, poor you, if you weren't there!"
- Borås Tidning / February 2006 -
Kip Boardman "Hello I Must Be..." (Mesmer Records)
"Kip Boardman wasn't even born then, but the way that the re-creates the
early 70's most sunny westcoastpop of America, really suggests that his
been living in that era all of his life!"
- Dagens Nyheter / January 2006 -
